John Allen: Holy Father, I am asking the question in English, if I may, and
perhaps, if it were possible, if we could have a sentence or a word in English
we would be very grateful. This is the question: the Church you will find in the
United States is a large Church, a lively Church, but also a suffering Church,
in a certain sense, especially because of the recent crisis caused by sexual
abuse. The American People are expecting a word from you, a message from you on
this crisis. What will be your Message for this suffering Church?

The Holy Father (in English): It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and
for the Church in general, for me personally, that this could happen. If I read
the history of these events, it is difficult for me to understand how it was
possible for priests to fail in this way in the mission to give healing, to give
God's love to these children. I am ashamed and we will do everything possible to
ensure that this does not happen in future. I think we have to act on three
levels: the first is at the level of justice and the political level. I will not
speak at this moment about homosexuality: this is another thing. We will
absolutely exclude paedophiles from the sacred ministry; it is absolutely
incompatible, and whoever is really guilty of being a paedophile cannot be a
priest. So at this first level we can do justice and help the victims, because
they are deeply affected; these are the two sides of justice: one, that
paedophiles cannot be priests and the other, to help in any possible way the
victims. Then there is a pastoral level. The victims will need healing and help
and assistance and reconciliation: this is a big pastoral engagement and I know
that the Bishops and the priests and all Catholic people in the United States
will do whatever possible to help, to assist, to heal. We have made a visitation
of the seminaries and we will do all that is possible in the education of
seminarians for a deep spiritual, human and intellectual formation for the
students. Only sound persons can be admitted to the priesthood and only persons
with a deep personal life in Christ and who have a deep sacramental life. So, I
know that the Bishops and directors of seminarians will do all possible to have
a strong, strong discernment because it is more important to have good priests
than to have many priests. This is also our third level, and we hope that we can
do, and have done and will do in the future, all that is possible to heal these
wounds.

CELEBRATION OF VESPERS AND MEETING WITH
THE BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Extract from the

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
Wednesday, 16 April 2008

Among the countersigns to the Gospel of life found in America and elsewhere is
one that causes deep shame: the sexual abuse of minors. Many of you have spoken
to me of the enormous pain that your communities have suffered when clerics have
betrayed their priestly obligations and duties by such gravely immoral behavior.
As you strive to eliminate this evil wherever it occurs, you may be assured of
the prayerful support of God’s people throughout the world. Rightly, you attach
priority to showing compassion and care to the victims. It is your God-given
responsibility as pastors to bind up the wounds caused by every breach of trust,
to foster healing, to promote reconciliation and to reach out with loving
concern to those so seriously wronged.

Responding to this situation has not been easy and, as the President of your
Episcopal Conference has indicated, it was “sometimes very badly handled”. Now
that the scale and gravity of the problem is more clearly understood, you have
been able to adopt more focused remedial and disciplinary measures and to
promote a safe environment that gives greater protection to young people. While
it must be remembered that the overwhelming majority of clergy and religious in
America do outstanding work in bringing the liberating message of the Gospel to
the people entrusted to their care, it is vitally important that the vulnerable
always be shielded from those who would cause harm. In this regard, your efforts
to heal and protect are bearing great fruit not only for those directly under
your pastoral care, but for all of society.

If they are to achieve their full purpose, however, the policies and programs
you have adopted need to be placed in a wider context. Children deserve to grow
up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human
relationships. They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude
manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today. They have a right to be educated
in authentic moral values rooted in the dignity of the human person. This brings
us back to our consideration of the centrality of the family and the need to
promote the Gospel of life. What does it mean to speak of child protection when
pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely
available today? We need to reassess urgently the values underpinning society,
so that a sound moral formation can be offered to young people and adults alike.
All have a part to play in this task – not only parents, religious leaders,
teachers and catechists, but the media and entertainment industries as well.
Indeed, every member of society can contribute to this moral renewal and benefit
from it. Truly caring about young people and the future of our civilization
means recognizing our responsibility to promote and live by the authentic moral
values which alone enable the human person to flourish. It falls to you, as
pastors modelled upon Christ, the Good Shepherd, to proclaim this message loud
and clear, and thus to address the sin of abuse within the wider context of
sexual mores. Moreover, by acknowledging and confronting the problem when
it occurs in an ecclesial setting, you can give a lead to others, since this
scourge is found not only within your Dioceses, but in every sector of society.
It calls for a determined, collective response.

Priests, too, need your guidance and closeness during this difficult time. They
have experienced shame over what has occurred, and there are those who feel they
have lost some of the trust and esteem they once enjoyed. Not a few are
experiencing a closeness to Christ in his Passion as they struggle to come to
terms with the consequences of the crisis. The Bishop, as father, brother and
friend of his priests, can help them to draw spiritual fruit from this union
with Christ by making them aware of the Lord’s consoling presence in the midst
of their suffering, and by encouraging them to walk with the Lord along the path
of hope (cf. Spe Salvi, 39). As Pope John Paul II observed six years ago, “we must be confident that
this time of trial will bring a purification of the entire Catholic community”,
leading to “a holier priesthood, a holier episcopate and a holier Church” (Address to the Cardinals of the United States,
23 April 2002,4). There are many signs that, during the intervening
period, such purification has indeed been taking place. Christ’s abiding
presence in the midst of our suffering is gradually transforming our darkness
into light: all things are indeed being made new in Christ Jesus our hope.

At this stage a vital part of your task is to strengthen relationships with your
clergy, especially in those cases where tension has arisen between priests and
their bishops in the wake of the crisis. It is important that you continue to
show them your concern, to support them, and to lead by example. In this way you
will surely help them to encounter the living God, and point them towards the
life-transforming hope of which the Gospel speaks. If you yourselves live in a
manner closely configured to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life
for his sheep, you will inspire your brother priests to rededicate themselves to
the service of their flocks with Christ-like generosity. Indeed a clearer focus
upon the imitation of Christ in holiness of life is exactly what is needed in
order for us to move forward. We need to rediscover the joy of living a
Christ-centred life, cultivating the virtues, and immersing ourselves in prayer.
When the faithful know that their pastor is a man who prays and who dedicates
his life to serving them, they respond with warmth and affection which nourishes
and sustains the life of the whole community.

It is in the context of this hope born of God’s love and fidelity that I
acknowledge the pain which the Church in America has experienced as a result of
the sexual abuse of minors. No words of mine could describe the pain and harm
inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given
loving pastoral attention. Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has
occurred within the community of the Church. Great efforts have already been
made to deal honestly and fairly with this tragic situation, and to ensure that
children – whom our Lord loves so deeply (cf. Mk 10:14), and who are our
greatest treasure – can grow up in a safe environment. These efforts to protect
children must continue. Yesterday I spoke with your Bishops about this. Today I
encourage each of you to do what you can to foster healing and reconciliation,
and to assist those who have been hurt. Also, I ask you to love your priests,
and to affirm them in the excellent work that they do. And above all, pray that
the Holy Spirit will pour out his gifts upon the Church, the gifts that lead to
conversion, forgiveness and growth in holiness.

Saint Paul speaks, as we heard in the second reading, of a kind of prayer which
arises from the depths of our hearts in sighs too deep for words, in “groanings”
(Rom 8:26) inspired by the Spirit. This is a prayer which yearns, in the
midst of chastisement, for the fulfillment of God’s promises. It is a prayer of
unfailing hope, but also one of patient endurance and, often, accompanied by
suffering for the truth. Through this prayer, we share in the mystery of
Christ’s own weakness and suffering, while trusting firmly in the victory of his
Cross. With this prayer, may the Church in America embrace ever more fully the
way of conversion and fidelity to the demands of the Gospel. And may all
Catholics experience the consolation of hope, and the Spirit’s gifts of joy and
strength.

In today’s Gospel, the risen Lord bestows the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the
Apostles and grants them the authority to forgive sins. Through the surpassing
power of Christ’s grace, entrusted to frail human ministers, the Church is
constantly reborn and each of us is given the hope of a new beginning. Let us
trust in the Spirit’s power to inspire conversion, to heal every wound, to
overcome every division, and to inspire new life and freedom. How much we need
these gifts! And how close at hand they are, particularly in the sacrament of
Penance! The liberating power of this sacrament, in which our honest confession
of sin is met by God’s merciful word of pardon and peace, needs to be
rediscovered and reappropriated by every Catholic. To a great extent, the
renewal of the Church in America and throughout the world depends on the renewal
of the practice of Penance and the growth in holiness which that sacrament both
inspires and accomplishes.

“In hope we were saved!” (Rom 8:24).” As the Church in the United States
gives thanks for the blessings of the past two hundred years, I invite you, your
families, and every parish and religious community, to trust in the power of
grace to create a future of promise for God’s people in this country. I ask you,
in the Lord Jesus, to set aside all division and to work with joy to prepare a
way for him, in fidelity to his word and in constant conversion to his will.
Above all, I urge you to continue to be a leaven of evangelical hope in American
society, striving to bring the light and truth of the Gospel to the task of
building an ever more just and free world for generations yet to come.

Those who have hope must live different lives! (cf. Spe Salvi, 2). By your prayers, by the witness of your faith, by the fruitfulness of your
charity, may you point the way towards that vast horizon of hope which God is
even now opening up to his Church, and indeed to all humanity: the vision of a
world reconciled and renewed in Christ Jesus, our Savior. To him be all honor
and glory, now and forever. Amen!

VOTIVE MASS FOR THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH

Extract from the

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

St Patrick's Cathedral, New York
Saturday, 19 April 2008

Here, within the context of our need for the perspective given by faith, and for
unity and cooperation in the work of building up the Church, I would like say a
word about the sexual abuse that has caused so much suffering. I have already
had occasion to speak of this, and of the resulting damage to the community of
the faithful. Here I simply wish to assure you, dear priests and religious, of
my spiritual closeness as you strive to respond with Christian hope to the
continuing challenges that this situation presents. I join you in praying that
this will be a time of purification for each and every particular Church and
religious community, and a time for healing. And I also encourage you to
cooperate with your Bishops who continue to work effectively to resolve this
issue. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant the Church in America a renewed sense of
unity and purpose, as all – Bishops, clergy, religious and laity – move forward
in hope, in love for the truth and for one another.

PRESS RELEASE OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE ON THE MEETING OF THE HOLY FATHER,
BENEDICT XVI, WITH A GROUP OF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE BY MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY

Today at 4:15 p.m. the Holy Father met in the chapel at the Apostolic Nunciature
in Washington D.C. with a small group of persons who were sexually abused by
members of the clergy.

The Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, accompanied the group. They
prayed with the Holy Father, who afterwards listened to their personal accounts
and offered them words of encouragement and hope.

His Holiness assured them of his prayers for their intentions, for their
families and for all victims of sexual abuse.